Singapore has recently added a new terminal (Terminal 3 or T3) at its Changi Airport. And boy its impressive! Its huge, grand and in keeping with the current trends “very green” with plenty of plants and natural light (and not to mention waterfalls!). It feels a lot like being in a newly built 5-star hotel.
In general, I have found the Singapore airport to be very traveler friendly with plenty of information booths all over the airport. At T3, the Singapore Airport authorities seem to have taken this one step further. Within seconds of standing in front of one of the departure screens I was approached by airport officials asking me if I needed help. Not sure if this has to do with the “newness” of the terminal or if it is going to be an ongoing feature.
The departure gates of each flight are designed similar to those in London’s Heathrow and Dubai (where you have to go past a main door after check-in to enter the waiting area unlike in San Francisco), but I didn’t notice the overcrowding in the passage ways that was apparent in Dubai. On the other hand I found plenty of space for transit passengers to relax and take rest. There were dedicated lounges bunched around TV screens showing soaps, CNN, sports etc. to suit your tastes. The free Internet terminals are located close to the transit counters and are programmed to give you 10-minute access (after which a new session has to be started thereby reminding users to not hog the terminals).
p.s: It was built at a cost of $1.22 and designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and CPG Corporation.
Pakora Korner 